I've ridden both the City of Los Angeles and the City of New Orleans.
I forget which one made the run from SLC to LA, but I rode that one, too, but I got off in Vegas, right there at the Union Station, at the head of Fremont St.
There was no gambling on any of the trains I took in and out of Las Vegas.
I have a thing about steam engines, including the old railroads. Ah, the stories I could tell about my family history. Just a hint: in 2012 I was in Dartmouth, England, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the invention of the steam engines by Thomas Newcomen. DH and I were among the few Americans present for those 2-3 days.
UP, NP, Milwaukee & GN. the only biggie I missed (or missed me) was the SP&S which never operated in Seattle or King County…
The GN was my favorite, my routes included between Vancouver BC & Portland, east to Spokane, & on the Milwaukee to MORTON, WA & Othello, WA; Bellingham, WA. & Portland.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2024 05:03AM by GNPE.
P.S. the U.P. owned tracks began at Black River Jct. South of Seattle.
The Milwaukee yard with the overhead crane for TOFC / COFC shared name with the adjacent N.P. yard, Stacy Street; the Milwaukee spotted frt cars in the now re-purposed Sears Building on Utah Avenue...
The Milwaukee & U.P. shared Union Station which is (was) a short walk from King St. Station, GN & NP shared.
Now city of Seattle owns King Street nicely renewed, rents space to Amtrak.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2024 07:44PM by GNPE.
They both went on strike 7/1/1922 with young families to support when the RR imposed a 12% pay cut.
My paternal GF became a cattle rancher and didn't go back.
My maternal GF went to Palmer Chiropractic College in Iowa, but came back without the means to open a practice and went back to the RR in either late 1924 or early 1925.
He worked in the Glenns Ferry Idaho roundhouse for the remainder of his career. He oversaw the transition from Coal-fired steam to diesel-electric in the 1940's and 1950's.
I never got to meet that grandfather. He died from lung cancer in December 1965, six months before I was Born.
I was on one of the last electric runs on the Milwaukee, we left tacoma but didn’t get very far past Renton…. I’ve forgotten how that resolved, it was early 1970 as I recall…
Not too long later, the Chicago, Milwaukee, Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad did an aborted attempt to abandon the Pacific Extension, but I believe that attempt failed; later it was a full-blown bankruptcy. Some parts became trails, some parts became parts of the SOO Railroad.
I took my lunch beside RAYONIER # 10 at Forks today, LIMA built gear driven logging engine; the build date wasn’t shown on the information panel. Western states had many logging railroads, I’ve hiked a few of the abandoned ROWs.